Clive Davis, the Grammy-winning record executive and music producer who helped launch dozens of household names, has died. He was 94.
Davis’ family confirmed his death to the New York Times on Monday morning, saying he died at home following a hospitalization for respiratory problems.
The legendary exec was responsible for signing legends like Barry Manilow, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Alicia Keys, Pink Floyd, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Chicago, Aerosmith and Billy Joel, and he is further credited for helping launch Whitney Houston into superstardom. He won five Grammy Awards himself and was even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer.
Most recently chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment, Davis served as president of Columbia Records from 1967-1973. After that, he worked as founder and president of Arista Records from 1974-2000 and then founded J Records. Between 2002 and 2008, he was chair/CEO of the RCA Music Group, chair/CEO of J Records and chair/CEO of BMG North America.
Thanks to his decades-spanning reputation as a certified hitmaker, Davis became the rare, non-artist industry titan to be considered a household name. During his tenure at Columbia, Davis helped spearhead the label’s investment in the then-burgeoning rock genre, an effort that paid off financially for both himself and Columbia. It was a decision, he noted in the 2017 documentary “Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives,” that was spurred on by his experience attending the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967.
There, Davis saw Jimi Hendrix, the Who and the Grateful Dead all perform, as well as Janis Joplin. He saw in them the commercial viability of rock ‘n’ roll. “I felt my spine tingle and my arms vibrate,” he said in the 2017 doc. “I realized this was going to be the future. I could feel it in my bones.”
Decades later, Davis recognized the widespread of appeal of both hip-hop and R&B pop music. He, consequently, became an early champion of artists like Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Wrap